Leveraging Your Existing Email, Web and Mobile Systems to Increase Effectiveness and Reduce Cost

Prepared by Kirby WinterseduWeb Conference 2011 – San Antonio

Confidential© 2008 Solar Velocity

Who We Are• End-to-End, Full Service Consulting and Solutions Digital

Marketing Firm• Founded in 1999• Headquartered In Atlanta, GA• Voted “Innovative Company of the Year” and “Best Place to Work

in Atlanta”• Mobilize the right people, the right skills, and the right

technologies• Low employee and client turnover rates• Culture is innovative, stable and client-focused

INTRODUCTION

Digital marketing and communications infrastructure can be daunting.

Integrating tools and software systems from disparate vendors is complex.

How can an institution’s website, constituent portals, social media presence, news feeder and email management platforms be drawn together to work from a central core, ensuring consistency and minimizing efforts?

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

THE PROBLEM

Many institutions have not yet established a consistent communications strategy and pipeline, leaving an assortment of messaging being issued from a number of departments and offices rather than a central point. This usually results in inconsistent content quality and style, which can lead to message confusion and brand confusion among alumni.

For example, redundant engagement occurs when two different offices send emails announcing a particular event to constituents. This redundancy means wasted money in time spent to prepare two emails, as well as in email inbox clutter that can frustrate and alienate alumni.

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

WHERE TO BEGIN

Strategy before execution – Understanding institutional requirements is imperative to defining a successful strategy. Initial planning should include:

1. Website Design & Architecture

2. Existing Systems Review

3. Content Strategy

4. Intranet /Extranet Communications

5. Social Media Campaigns

6. Support Infrastructure

7. Departmental Oversight

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

Institutions are embracing technology but seldom harness all facets. Each type of audience prefers to receive their information in specific ways. Understanding how to best reach each type of audience will drive your communications strategy.

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

.EDU

Students

Human Resourc

es

Alumni

Executive Team

Faculty

Staff

Prospects

REACH PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE MOST COMFORTABLE

Just as your audience uses different channels to stay in touch with their interpersonal connections – preferring email for work and Facebook for friends, for example – they want to be able to make the same kinds of choices when connecting to their alma mater.

Rather than viewing the vast array of social media and online channels as a daunting barrier, development and marketing staff should instead view the wealth of options as a greater opportunity to more quickly and meaningfully strengthen connections.

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

USE YOUR TOOLS

Integrate your solutions for efficiency and productivity.

Harness the tools at your disposal: Blackbaud Banner Luminis SharePoint Sitefinity

Integrated systems are more powerful than each one individually.

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

CMS

Email

Portal

RELY ON THE EXPERTS

Training alone will not guarantee success with complex software systems.

Poorly utilized systems result in wasted money and time.

Effectively utilizing your tools is critical to staying at the forefront of your constituent’s thoughts.

1 + 1 = 4

CREATE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS HUB

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

Your communications hub should be central to your entire constituent base.

Blend your systems together to remove redundancy.

Improve efficiency by empowering users to receive information when they want it.

Existing System

s

Social Networ

ks

Social CRM

Analytics Tools

Mobile Apps .ED

UWeb

REAL WORLD RESULTS

Case Study: Morehouse School of Medicine

Five Year Strategic Plan: “Restructure the Web site, leverage social marketing tools, and produce a new brand identity program.”

Rebuilt and rebranded the 2,000+ page website to be more intuitive and meet the needs of the visitors. Implemented Alumni portal.

Increased website traffic by 600%. Alumni engagement jumped by over 20%.

Implemented Facebook, Twitter and YouTube campaigns.

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

COMMUNICATIONS HUB IN ACTION

MSM News Station Blackbaud

NetCommunity for constituent newsletters and timed updates

SharePoint workflow for decentralized categories news (departments, topics, events)

Banner Luminis for constituent portal access

Mobile apps for external news and events communication access

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

Blackbaud NetComm

unity

Facebook and Twitter

Feeds

SharePoint News

Workflow

Banner Luminis Portal

iPad App MSM

Web

DOING MORE WITH LESS

Installing new systems is not always the right solution to the problem of communicating efficiently with your constituents.

Optimizing the use of your systems through process development improves efficiencies and decreases overlapping work effort. Streamlining the workflow Using the right tool for the job Combining systems in a seamless process to become more

efficient Reaching your constituents where they are listening Setting metrics and measuring your success

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com

CONCLUSION

Change your thinking to target the best communications tools for each constituent group. Seldom is there only one tool for one group.

Building a Communications Hub to simplify your process will improve your messaging and increase your workflow, saving the institution time and money.

Contact Info: Kirby Winters COO, Co-founder Solar Velocity LLC 404-978-2242 kirby@solarvelocity.com

Office: 404-978-2240 www.solarvelocity.com